2016 United States Senate election in Arizona

2016 United States Senate election in Arizona

← 2010 November 8, 2016 2020 (special) →

Nominee John McCain Ann Kirkpatrick Gary Swing Party Republican Democratic Green Popular vote 1,359,267 1,031,245 138,634 Percentage 53.71% 40.75% 5.48%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results McCain:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Kirkpatrick:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% No Vote

U.S. senator before election John McCain Republican Elected U.S. Senator John McCain Republican

Elections in Arizona
Federal government Presidential elections 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1912 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2020 sp 2022 2024 2028 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1911 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1933 AL sp 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1961 2nd sp 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1991 2nd sp 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 8th 2008 2010 2012 8th sp 2014 2016 2018 8th sp 2020 2022 2024
State government State elections 2006 2010 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Gubernatorial elections 1911 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Secretary of State elections 2014 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 2018 2022 Treasurer elections 2022 Superintendent elections 2018 2022 Senate elections 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 House of Representatives elections 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 2006 2018 2020 2022 2024
Ballot measures List of Arizona ballot propositions 2000 203 2004 200 2006 107 204 207 2008 102 2010 100 203 2020 207
Phoenix Mayoral elections 2011 2015 2018–19 (sp) 2020
Tucson Mayoral elections 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Other localities Chandler Gilbert 2012 Glendale 2012 2016 Maricopa County 2024 Mesa 2008 2012 2020 Scottsdale 2008 2012
v t e

The 2016 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the U.S. Senate to represent the State of Arizona, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, other elections to the U.S. Senate in other states and elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as various state and local elections.

The Democratic primary was held on March 22, 2016, while the Republican primary election took place on August 30, 2016.^[1] After serving in the Arizona State Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives for a number of years, Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick sought to unseat incumbent Republican senator John McCain, who won re-election to his sixth and final term in office.

After hinting in September 2013 that he could retire,^[2] McCain subsequently said that the chances he would run again were "pretty good", but his campaign had emphasized that he had not made a decision yet.^[3] On April 7, 2015, he announced that he would run for re-election.^[4] McCain faced strong primary opposition from the Tea Party, but he ultimately defeated challenger Kelli Ward in the August 30 primary.^[5][6]

McCain won with 53.7% of the vote compared to Kirkpatrick's 40.8%, with 5.5% voting for the Green candidate Gary Swing. Although McCain won reelection by double digits, this was the closest margin of his Senate career. It was also his first election in which he failed to win the traditionally Democratic counties of Coconino and Pima. As of 2024^[update], this was the last time Republicans won a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona. Kirkpatrick would later successfully run again for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona's 2nd congressional district in 2018.